The Power of Three: Coral Reefs, Seagrasses and Mangroves Protect Coastal Regions and Increase Their Resilience

Natural habitats have the ability to protect coastal communities against the impacts of waves and storms, yet it is unclear how different habitats complement each other to reduce those impacts. Here, we investigate the individual and combined coastal protection services supplied by live corals on reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests during both non-storm and storm conditions, and under present and future sea-level conditions. Using idealized profiles of fringing and barrier reefs, we quantify the services supplied by these habitats using various metrics of inundation and erosion. We find that, together, live corals, seagrasses, and mangroves supply more protection services than any individual habitat or any combination of two habitats. Specifically, we find that, while mangroves are the most effective at protecting the coast under non-storm and storm conditions, live corals and seagrasses also moderate the impact of waves and storms, thereby further reducing the vulnerability of coastal regions. Also, in addition to structural differences, the amount of service supplied by habitats in our analysis is highly dependent on the geomorphic setting, habitat location and forcing conditions: live corals in the fringing reef profile supply more protection services than seagrasses; seagrasses in the barrier reef profile supply more protection services than live corals; and seagrasses, in our simulations, can even compensate for the long-term degradation of the barrier reef. Results of this study demonstrate the importance of taking integrated and place-based approaches when quantifying and managing for the coastal protection services supplied by ecosystems

Climate change\u27s impact on key ecosystem services and the human well-being they support in the US

Climate change alters the functions of ecological systems. As a result, the provision of ecosystem services and the well-being of people that rely on these services are being modified. Climate models portend continued warming and more frequent extreme weather events across the US. Such weather-related disturbances will place a premium on the ecosystem services that people rely on. We discuss some of the observed and anticipated impacts of climate change on ecosystem service provision and livelihoods in the US. We also highlight promising adaptive measures. The challenge will be choosing which adaptive strategies to implement, given limited resources and time. We suggest using dynamic balance sheets or accounts of natural capital and natural assets to prioritize and evaluate national and regional adaptation strategies that involve ecosystem services. © The Ecological Society of America

Integrated modeling framework to quantify the coastal protection services supplied by vegetation

Vegetation can protect communities by reducing nearshore wave height and altering sediment transport processes. However, quantitative approaches for evaluating the coastal protection services, or benefits, supplied by vegetation to people in a wide range of coastal environments are lacking. To begin to fill this knowledge gap, we propose an integrated modeling approach for quantifying how vegetation modifies nearshore processes—including the attenuation of wave height, mean and total water level—and reduces shoreline erosion during storms. We apply the model to idealized seagrass-sand and mangrove-mud cases, and illustrate its potential by quantifying how those habitats reduce water levels and sediment loss beyond what would be observed in the absence of vegetation. The integrated modeling approach provides an efficient way to quantify the coastal protection services supplied by vegetation and highlights specific research needs for improved representations of the ways in which vegetation modifies wave-induced processes.Keywords: coastal vegetation, wave setup and runup, coastal erosion, mud bed scou

Coastal natural and nature-based features: international guidelines for flood risk management

Natural and nature-based features (NNBF) have been used for more than 100 years as coastal protection infrastructure (e.g., beach nourishment projects). The application of NNBF has grown steadily in recent years with the goal of realizing both coastal engineering and environment and social co-benefits through projects that have the potential to adapt to the changing climate. Technical advancements in support of NNBF are increasingly the subject of peer-reviewed literature, and guidance has been published by numerous organizations to inform technical practice for specific types of nature-based solutions. The International Guidelines on Natural and Nature-Based Features for Flood Risk Management was recently published to provide a comprehensive guide that draws directly on the growing body of knowledge and practitioner experience from around the world to inform the process of conceptualizing, planning, designing, engineering, and operating NNBF. These Guidelines focus on the role of nature-based solutions and natural infrastructure (beaches, dunes, wetlands and plant systems, islands, reefs) as a part of coastal and riverine flood risk management. In addition to describing each of the NNBF types, their use, design, implementation, and maintenance, the guidelines describe general principles for employing NNBF, stakeholder engagement, monitoring, costs and benefits, and adaptive management. An overall systems approach is taken to planning and implementation of NNBF. The guidelines were developed to support decision-makers, project managers, and practitioners in conceptualizing, planning, designing, engineering, implementing, and maintaining sustainable systems for nature-based flood risk management. This paper summarizes key concepts and highlights challenges and areas of future research

Catching the Right Wave: Evaluating Wave Energy Resources and Potential Compatibility with Existing Marine and Coastal Uses

Many hope that ocean waves will be a source for clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy, yet wave energy conversion facilities may affect marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms, including competition with other human uses. We developed a decision-support tool to assist siting wave energy facilities, which allows the user to balance the need for profitability of the facilities with the need to minimize conflicts with other ocean uses. Our wave energy model quantifies harvestable wave energy and evaluates the net present value (NPV) of a wave energy facility based on a capital investment analysis. The model has a flexible framework and can be easily applied to wave energy projects at local, regional, and global scales. We applied the model and compatibility analysis on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to provide information for ongoing marine spatial planning, including potential wave energy projects. In particular, we conducted a spatial overlap analysis with a variety of existing uses and ecological characteristics, and a quantitative compatibility analysis with commercial fisheries data. We found that wave power and harvestable wave energy gradually increase offshore as wave conditions intensify. However, areas with high economic potential for wave energy facilities were closer to cable landing points because of the cost of bringing energy ashore and thus in nearshore areas that support a number of different human uses. We show that the maximum combined economic benefit from wave energy and other uses is likely to be realized if wave energy facilities are sited in areas that maximize wave energy NPV and minimize conflict with existing ocean uses. Our tools will help decision-makers explore alternative locations for wave energy facilities by mapping expected wave energy NPV and helping to identify sites that provide maximal returns yet avoid spatial competition with existing ocean uses

Social Factors Key to Landscape-Scale Coastal Restoration: Lessons Learned from Three U.S. Case Studies

In the United States, extensive investments have been made to restore the ecological function and services of coastal marine habitats. Despite a growing body of science supporting coastal restoration, few studies have addressed the suite of societally enabling conditions that helped facilitate successful restoration and recovery efforts that occurred at meaningful ecological (i.e., ecosystem) scales, and where restoration efforts were sustained for longer (i.e., several years to decades) periods. Here, we examined three case studies involving large-scale and long-term restoration efforts including the seagrass restoration effort in Tampa Bay, Florida, the oyster restoration effort in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia, and the tidal marsh restoration effort in San Francisco Bay, California. The ecological systems and the specifics of the ecological restoration were not the focus of our study. Rather, we focused on the underlying social and political contexts of each case study and found common themes of the factors of restoration which appear to be important for maintaining support for large-scale restoration efforts. Four critical elements for sustaining public and/or political support for large-scale restoration include: (1) resources should be invested in building public support prior to significant investments into ecological restoration; (2) building political support provides a level of significance to the recovery planning efforts and creates motivation to set and achieve meaningful recovery goals; (3) recovery plans need to be science-based with clear, measurable goals that resonate with the public; and (4) the accountability of progress toward reaching goals needs to be communicated frequently and in a way that the general public comprehends. These conclusions may help other communities move away from repetitive, single, and seemingly unconnected restoration projects towards more large-scale, bigger impact, and coordinated restoration efforts

Transdisciplinary Research for Conservation and Sustainable Development Planning in the Caribbean

Globally, the human population is fast approaching 10 billion people, with nearly a third located within 100 km of the sea. As the list of environmental ills facing the ocean and coasts grows longer, it becomes increasingly important to understand the cumulative effects of anthropogenic stressors and the most promising interventions to bolster ecosystems. In this chapter we share our experience using transdisciplinary approaches and ecosystem services to inform two government-led spatial planning processes in the Caribbean: Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Belize and Sustainable Development Planning in The Bahamas. We describe the science–policy process in these two countries in light of three important components of transdisciplinarity: (1) solutions-oriented research, (2) coproduction of knowledge, and (3) multiple disciplines. By accounting for the ways in which communities depend on ecosystems, as well as affect them, we explore how the governments of Belize and The Bahamas aim to reach a broader set of actors and to direct investments, planning, and decision making to promote conservation and foster human well-being at the same time

Density derived estimates of standing crop and net primary production in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera

Assemblages of macroalgae are believe to be among the most productive ecosystems in the world, yet difficulties in obtaining direct estimates of biomass and primary production have led to few macroalgal data sets from which the consequences of long-term change can be assessed. We evaluated the validity of using two easily measured population variables (frond density and plant density) to estimate the more difficult to measure variables of standing crop and net primary production (NPP) in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera off southern California. Standing crop was much more strongly correlated to frond density than to plant density. Frond density data collected in summer were particularly useful for estimating annual NPP, explaining nearly 80% of the variation in the NPP from year to year. Data on frond densities also provided a relatively good estimate of seasonal NPP for the season that the data were collected. In contrast, estimates of seasonal and annual NPP derived from plant density data were less reliable. These results indicate that data on frond density collected at the proper time of year can make assessments of NPP by giant kelp more tractable. They also suggest that other easily measured variables that are strongly correlated with standing crop, such as surface canopy area, might serve as similarly useful proxies of NPP

Density derived estimates of standing crop and net primary production in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera

Assemblages of macroalgae are believe to be among the most productive ecosystems in the world, yet difficulties in obtaining direct estimates of biomass and primary production have led to few macroalgal data sets from which the consequences of long-term change can be assessed. We evaluated the validity of using two easily measured population variables (frond density and plant density) to estimate the more difficult to measure variables of standing crop and net primary production (NPP) in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera off southern California. Standing crop was much more strongly correlated to frond density than to plant density. Frond density data collected in summer were particularly useful for estimating annual NPP, explaining nearly 80% of the variation in the NPP from year to year. Data on frond densities also provided a relatively good estimate of seasonal NPP for the season that the data were collected. In contrast, estimates of seasonal and annual NPP derived from plant density data were less reliable. These results indicate that data on frond density collected at the proper time of year can make assessments of NPP by giant kelp more tractable. They also suggest that other easily measured variables that are strongly correlated with standing crop, such as surface canopy area, might serve as similarly useful proxies of NPP

The Power of Three: Coral Reefs, Seagrasses and Mangroves Protect Coastal Regions and Increase Their Resilience

<div><p>Natural habitats have the ability to protect coastal communities against the impacts of waves and storms, yet it is unclear how different habitats complement each other to reduce those impacts. Here, we investigate the individual and combined coastal protection services supplied by live corals on reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests during both non-storm and storm conditions, and under present and future sea-level conditions. Using idealized profiles of fringing and barrier reefs, we quantify the services supplied by these habitats using various metrics of inundation and erosion. We find that, together, live corals, seagrasses, and mangroves supply more protection services than any individual habitat or any combination of two habitats. Specifically, we find that, while mangroves are the most effective at protecting the coast under non-storm and storm conditions, live corals and seagrasses also moderate the impact of waves and storms, thereby further reducing the vulnerability of coastal regions. Also, in addition to structural differences, the amount of service supplied by habitats in our analysis is highly dependent on the geomorphic setting, habitat location and forcing conditions: live corals in the fringing reef profile supply more protection services than seagrasses; seagrasses in the barrier reef profile supply more protection services than live corals; and seagrasses, in our simulations, can even compensate for the long-term degradation of the barrier reef. Results of this study demonstrate the importance of taking integrated and place-based approaches when quantifying and managing for the coastal protection services supplied by ecosystems.</p></div